Congress leader Sonia Gandhi on Saturday said the opposition INDIA alliance’s goal is early implementation of the women’s reservation bill recently passed by the Parliament and asserted the bloc would fight for it. Reiterating his unity pitch to dislodge the BJP regime at the Centre, DMK president and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin accused the Saffron party of ”conspiracy” while batting for internal reservation for OBCs and minorities in the reservation for women in legislative bodies. “The INDIA bloc is not merely an electoral alliance but an ideological alliance,” he said at the Women’s Rights Conference organised by the ruling DMK in Chennai on Saturday. The event saw the participation of key women INDIA leaders including Sonia Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi, Mehbooba Mufti and Supriya Sule.
Stalin said the BJP can be defeated only through unity and Tamil Nadu has shown the way since the 2019 LS election. ”A united alliance, like the one in Tamil Nadu, should be formed in every state across India.” Hitting out at the Centre, Sonia Gandhi said the last nine years has seen a sustained effort on the part of the Narendra Modi government to ”turn our women purely into symbols to be counted and appreciated only in their restricted, traditional role in a patriarchal framework.” Her husband, the late Rajiv Gandhi brought the historic 33 per cent reservation for women in Panchayati raj, the local self-governments which spurred an entirely new phenomenon of women leadership at the grassroots level. It was a vital stepping stone towards the reservation on a similar one thirds of seats in the legislative bodies which the Congress pioneered in Parliament and outside.
Now, the Women’s Reservation Bill has finally been passed due to ”our relentless persistence and efforts; of all of us, not just the Congress.” However, ”as we all know, it is still a long way to come.” She recalled the interventions made in the Parliament by opposition MPs on the actual implementation of the Bill, whether it would be in one year, two or three years. ”We have no idea,” she said and added though ”some of you men are happy, but we are not; we women are not.” She asserted the INDIA alliance would fight for the implementation of Women’s Reservation Act.
”We are going to fight for it till we eventually get that whether you men like it or not.” The Women’s Reservation Bill introduced by the UPA-II was passed by the Rajya Sabha but a lack of consensus prevented it from being passed in the Lok Sabha. Instead of mitigating problems faced by women, the last nine years under the Modi regime has sought to confine women to traditional roles.
Further she said, ”I am confident that we, the like-minded parties of the INDIA alliance can and will take urgent steps needed to make women’s equality a reality. It is my fervent hope that we the INDIA alliance will see to it that the bill will be implemented as soon as possible; we will all work together to see to it that it happens.” She reinforced that this is the alliance’s goal and when the constituents of the combine fought together, they shall emerge victorious. Stalin said defeating the BJP is the historical imperative of every democratic force. Under the BJP, not only women’s rights, but the rights of all citizens are being curtailed.
”Will the Parliamentary system exist? Will Democracy exist…these questions loom large.” Accusing the BJP of deceiving women by way of a reservation Bill that does not ”actually materialise,” he said PM Modi could have been appreciated if the bill had straightaway earmarked quota for women in the next year’s polls and assembly elections. ”A significant flaw in the BJP’s legislation is the absence of reservations for OBC and minority women.” Only if they are given internal reservation, the voice of marginalised and economically disadvantaged would resonate in the Assemblies and Parliament, he said. ”The BJP seems to prefer otherwise. We must interpret this not merely as a political gambit by the BJP, but potentially as a broader conspiracy. When these discrepancies are highlighted, the Prime Minister resorts to deflective commentary.” ”He accuses that we divide women along caste lines. Yet, everyone is well aware of who perpetuates divisions based on caste and religion.” The internal quota is to ensure women from all sections are empowered. ”If we give up our pursuit, they would destroy social justice. We must not allow that to happen under any circumstance, he said.” Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi demanded the immediate implementation of the Women’s reservation saying women have ”no more time to waste.
Annie Raja of the CPI said ’Manuvad’ was prevalent like a poisonous snake everywhere in the country. CPI(M) leader Subhashini Ali said in order to implement the Women’s Reservation Act, the BJP regime at the Centre has to be thrown out of power. Calling for joint efforts to overcome the threat to cooperative federalism allegedly posed by the BJP-led government at the Centre, Baramati MP and NCP working president Supriya Sule said the ruling DMK in Tamil Nadu that has a legacy of iconic leaders like Periyar Ramaswamy, C N Annadurai and M Karunanidhi, should lead the people for a better India. JKPDP president and former Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti accused the BJP-led government at the Centre of pursuing hate politics and dividing the people on religious lines.
”The BJP government is trying to divert attention from all the problems in the country by indulging in hate politics and pursuing a sinister agenda of dividing the Hindus and Muslims,” she claimed. Samajwadi Party MP from Mainpuri (Uttar Pradesh), Dimple Yadav said the BJP government has proven its incompetence and abject failure in providing safety, security and rights for women. Trinamool Congress leader Sushmita Dev accused the BJP of being infamous for tokenism and claimed there is no guarantee that the Women’s reservation bill would come into effect even in 2037.
DMK MP Kanimozhi, Bihar minister Leshi Singh among others spoke.
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